Source · Select Committees · Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Recommendation 42
42
Acknowledged
Paragraph: 117
Diseases do not recognise borders.
Conclusion
Diseases do not recognise borders. Enhancing biosecurity protects animal, plant and human health. Although we have full faith in the Chief Veterinary Officer, it would be easier to monitor animal diseases in our closest neighbours if the UK regained access to the Animal Disease Notification System. ADNS is a quick and reliable system, and it would help to remove the opportunity for human error. Regaining access to the ADNS would also benefit our European neighbours as it would allow them to better monitor disease in the UK. This is a win, win situation. Failing to regain access could have catastrophic consequences for UK biosecurity, so
Government response summary AI-generated
The government agrees with the committee's recommendations and states they retain reporting access with the European Food Safety Agency and continue to share surveillance data. They will continue to engage with the European Commission without explicitly committing to regaining ADNS access.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
117
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government · verbatim extract
Acknowledged
We agree with the Committee’s recommendations on biosecurity. ADNS has now been replaced by the ADIS system for EU Member States and we continue to engage with the Commission to facilitate access. This is part of a wider negotiation which means that progress is unlikely to be straightforward. Currently, the UK has in place alternative systems for horizon scanning and risk assessment including the World Organisation for Animal Health Information System (OIE-WAHIS). Our relationship with the European Commission also means that the UK authorities are notified of any new outbreaks of significance in the EU. This has allowed us to ensure the UK CVO has information about any potential changes in the disease situation in Europe.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗